September 15, 2006
THE states will be stripped of prime responsibility for Australia's overseas adoption programs, with the Federal Government taking over management of the system.
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock's department will assume control of overseas adoptions after a federal parliamentary inquiry blamed state government neglect and hostility for driving down the number of adoptions in Australia since the early 1970s.
The House of Representatives committee, which reported last November, found a general lack of support for adoptions among state and territory governments.
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